Attachment for violins and the like



May 6, 1941., A. GUSMAN 4 ATTACHMENT FOR VIQLINS AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 25, 1938 lNvENToR- ATTORNEY Patented May 6, 1941 UNETED STATES PATENT QFFICE 2 Claims.

The object of the present invention is to provide an attachment for string instruments such as violins to assist violin students to maintain both hands, wrists and arms, in proper position during the playing of the instrument, and particularly to assist the student to maintain in proper position, simultaneously, the left hand, wrist and elbow, and also the right hand and arm in order that the latter may guide the bow in a straight and correct manner.

The specific objects of the invention are to provide a device of the type described of such form that the body of the violin will be free from any attached parts, which have been found in prior devices of the present type, to impair tone by lessening or distorting natural vibration of the wood.

A further object is to eliminate the use of screws and screw clamps.

A further object is to provide a construction in which the elements of the attachment will be less conspicuous than types heretofore proposed, easier to attach and remove, more economical in construction, and, as to the wrist-guide element, capable of adjustments to suit different lengths and sizes of wrists and hands by bending of an element capable of such action and, at the same time, having the required resistance with a slight yielding which assists a natural, limited movement and flexing of the hand and wrist muscles, and enables proper and free movement of the left hand.

These and other objects of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a View in perspective showing a violin with my attachment applied thereto, a bow being shown in position.

Figure 2 is a View in elevation. showing the attachment at the right-hand side thereof.

Figure 3 is a view in elevation showing the up-- per portion of a violin body with neck and finger board, my attachment having been applied thereto, the figure showing a hand and wrist held in correct position.

Figure 4 is a view in left-hand side elevation of the bow guide structure.

Figure 5 is a front elevation of the bow guide shown in position on the bridge of a violin.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary View of a violin body neck and finger board, having applied thereto the wrist guide structure.

Figure 7 is a detail view of the wrist tension cord.

Figure 8 is a view in elevation showing a modi- 5 fied form of bridge connection for the bow guide structure.

Referring to the drawing, I have shown a violin having a body I, a neck 2 and a finger board 3, the strings being led over a bridge 4 in the usual manner. Applied to the lower surface of the neck, near its depending body connecting portion, is a saddle member 5 having a yoke 50: which straddles the sides of the neck and which may continue upwardly to engage the sides of the finger board 3. Each yoke arm is provided with a hook 6, as best shown in Figure 6. To firmly hold the saddle and yoke construction in position I employ a tension cord 1. This is preferably made of elastic and is shown as having eyed end members lot to receive the hooks 6 of yoke members 501:.

The saddle 5 carries a wrist guide comprising a metallic strip having a bendable section 9 which immediately depends from the saddle and which merges into a reversely bent wrist-engaging section, the reversely bent section being preferably covered with rubber tubing 8, as shown in Figure 6. The extreme end of the metallic strip may be bent upwardly to hold the tubing in position.

The bow guide structure is connected to the wrist guide structure as will be hereinafter explained. The bow guide structure, preferably is formed of a length of Wire which is round in cross-section. One section of the wire is bent to form a bridge-engaging clamp. To that end, it is formed as a narrow loop at ID to engage one face of the bridge 4 and is also bent with two narrow loops at H, Hz, to engage the opposite face of the bridge.

From loop IIzc the wire extends upwardly for a short distance and then is bent outwardly and downwardly in a curve which terminates below the horizontal center of the bridge. The section thus bent is indicated at I2. The end of the section is then bent horizontally as best shown in Figure 3, the horizontal section extending longitudinally of the instrument body. The wire is then bent upwardly and inclined toward the bridge in U-shape formation, this U-shape section being covered with a yielding material such as rubber tubing as shown at I3. At the top end of the U-shape section, the wire is bent upwardly in the manner shown at I4, Figure 5, and thence in a downwardly extending curve, which curved section may be covered with rubber tubing as shown at I5. At the end of the said tubing the wire is horizontally bent and passed through a short piece of tubing I6 as shown in Figure 4.

The short tubing piece l5 also receives the horizontal end of a U-shaped section I! rising from loop II at one face of the bridge. Each section of wire passed through tubing It may be hooked to hold the tubing in position.

One of the hooks 6 on the yoke of the saddle member may be of sufficient area to receive not only an eye of the tension cord, but also the hooked end of a connector rod, or an eye formed at the end of the connector rod, this eye being shown at l8, Figures 2 and 3. The opposite end of the rod is connected to the bow guide structure in any suitable manner, preferably by a detachable connection.

This rod serves to steady the bow guide and particularly that area thereof which is supported in cantilever effect from the bridge. The rod also gives this steadying effect by carrying the stresses to the saddle and yoke 5, 5a, without the necessity of a clamping arrangement applied to the instrument body.

I prefer to apply to the inner face of the saddle and yoke member a lining of leather or the like (not shown) to prevent any marring of the wood when the device is applied to and removed from the instrument. It will be noted that the wrist or left-hand adjustment structure grips the neck of the violin and the sides of the finger board but does not touch the strings on either side of the finger board. The bow guide structure may be carried by a violin mute [9, Figure 8, preferably formed with two legs to engage one face of the bridge and a single centrally disposed leg to engage the opposite face of the bridge. This mute may be conveniently formed with a tube-like horizontal upper end 59m, and, in that case, the wire sections at the points indicated by the numerals I Ix and IT, Figure 5, may be severed and bent inwardly to enter the tube-like section of the mute, as indicated in Figure 8.

The device may be assembled and put in use in only a few seconds of time without the necessity of applying an adjusting screw clamp or the like. The rubber covered lower end of the wrist guide structure may be adjusted in position to suit short or long wrists by a simple bending of the flat metal strip 9. The metal strip 9 is relatively resilient and therefore positions the wrist properly while giving sufficient flexibility to insure a natural movement of the left wrist and fingers, the elbow automatically being turned to proper position by accurate positioning of the wrist.

The bow guide structure insures against a zigzagging of the bow and yet the structure is sufliciently yielding to make the guiding action appear natural and not forced. The combination overcomes too great flexibility in the bow guide structure by the steadying action of the rod carried by the saddle and yoke of the wrist guide. The straight bow position is generally easier to accomplish than the correct fingering position and the device enables removal of the bow guide structure when the student gets into the right bowing habit and when the wrist guide has accomplished its purpose, it, likewise, may be removed.

It will be understood that various modifications may be made in the form and arrangement of the elements without departing from the spirit of the invention. For cello and bass instruments the bow guide will, obviously, have a reverse arrangement extending to the right of the instrument elatively to the position of Figure 1 with respect to elements i l and H. The proportions of elements i5 and H relative to the remaining elements, shown in Figure 5, are suitable for a viola, and should be reduced in size for violin use.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. In devices of the character forth, a saddle member having opposed spaced yoke arms and a connecting base section adapted to embrace the under and side faces of the neck of a string instrument, such a violin, said base section also having a curved downwardly-extending finger, a tension cord car ied by the yoke for engaging the base of the instrument neck below the finger board, and a wrist guide comprising a metallic strip carried by the saddle member and having a bendable section depending therefrom and merging into a reverse-1y bent wrist-engaging section.

2. A device constructed in accordance with claim 1 in which the reversely bent wrist-engaging section of the wrist guide comprises substantially parallel sections of the metallic strip, and a rubber sheath enclosing the said parallel sections of the strip.

AKIBO GUSMAN. 

